Elected Officials

COUNTY CLERK WARNS CANDIDATES TO OBEY SIGN LAWS THROUGHOUT COUNTY

COUNTY CLERK WARNS CANDIDATES TO OBEY SIGN LAWS THROUGHOUT COUNTY

1998-08-19 00:00

In response to numerous complaints and queries, Dona Ana County Clerk Rita Torres has begun sending letters explaining county and municipal sign ordinances to all candidates for elected office whose names will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot in Dona Ana County.Torres said sign regulations differ throughout the county, depending on whether municipal codes override county ordinances. Billboards, which are privately owned and contracted, are not affected by the sign ordinances. She said most questions related to non-billboard sign regulations can be answered with the following information:City of Las Cruces: Signs may be erected no sooner than 90 days before an election (Aug. 5) and must be removed no later than 10 days following the election (Nov. 13). Signs may be no larger than 32 square feet (4'x8') and the top of the sign may be no taller than eight feet above the ground.Extra-Territorial Zone: Same as City of Las Cruces. The ETZ comprises all land within five miles of the Las Cruces city limit on all sides and in all directions except for incorporated municipalities.Town of Mesilla: Signs may be erected no sooner than 30 days before an election (Oct. 5) and must be removed no later than 7 days following the election (Nov. 10). Signs may be no larger than 32 square feet (4'x8') and the top of the sign may be no taller than eight feet above the ground.Dona Ana County (including Hatch and Sunland Park): Signs may be erected no sooner than 60 days before an election (Sept. 5) and must be removed no later than 7 days following the election (Nov. 10). Signs may be no larger than 32 square feet (4'x8') and the top of the sign may be no taller than eight feet above the ground.In all areas, Torres said, signs must not be placed on state, county, or municipal road rights of way, nor may they be placed on private property without the consent of the property owner. Violations can result in the removal of signs by code-enforcement officers of the various entities, as well as fines to the candidates and to the landowners upon whose land signs are improperly placed.Persons wishing to register complaints about illegal or illegally placed signs should call the code-enforcement officer in the county or in the municipality in which the violation occurs.